Carpenter calls September poll

Alan Carpenter: 'Choice between strong and stable leadership or chaos and disunity'

ABC News

Western Australians will go to the polls on September 6.

Premier Alan Carpenter visited the WA Governor Ken Michael to pave the way for the election, which is five months earlier than normal.

Today's announcement comes just one day after the Liberals elected Colin Barnett to take the party to a second election.

Mr Carpenter explained his reasons for going to the polls early:

"The Liberal leadership issue is settled and now there's a clear choice it's a choice between the future and the past, it's a choice between strong and stable leadership and chaos and disunity," he said.

"We need to move forward and we need certainty."

Opposition Leader Colin Barnett says the calling of an early election is a sign Mr Carpenter is panicking.

"There is absolutely no justification at all for calling an election six months early," he said.

"Alan Carpenter is running away from parliamentary scrutiny, he's running away from the investigation of the Corruption and Crime Commission and most importantly he's running away from his responsibilities as Premier."

The minor parties have welcomed the early poll and say they are ready to fight the campaign.

Nationals Leader Brendon Grylls says his party has been advertising in regional media for months and is ready for the election.

"The Nationals have a clear agenda, to win the balance of power to ensure that country people have a voice in the Parliament," he said.

Greens MLC Giz Watson is also confident.

"Our expectation is that we will continue to play a crucial role in the Upper House and we will have more members in the Upper House after this election," she said.